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Tehran is ready to resume nuclear discussions with Washington provided that it is handled with "respect" and "honor", Iran's foreign minister has announced.

Abbas Araghchi said only diplomacy was effective, and revealed fresh requests had been made by mediators to reopen talks with the Trump administration. He said Iran did not have secret atomic facilities, and Tehran could not yet authorize the UN nuclear inspectorate to visit attacked atomic facilities for safety concerns.

Navigating a Challenging Path

Araghchi is navigating a challenging path since Iran aims to avoid be seen to be operating from a stance of disadvantage, and he emphatically stated that Iran had emerged more resilient defensively and psychologically from the joint assault on its nuclear sites in June.

He was talking at a defense forum in Tehran where he restated that Iran had "an inalienable right to process nuclear material within its borders that it will never give up" – the primary cause of the stalemate in the earlier negotiations.

Previous Talks Abruptly Concluded

The previous five rounds of negotiations between the United States and Iran were concluded unexpectedly and bitter termination on 12 June when Israel, with American backing, attacked Tehran's atomic facilities in a 12-day war that concluded with the US president declaring the facilities had been destroyed. Afterward, EU nations used their privilege to reimpose international penalties, but Iran asserts they have not had a substantial consequence.

Ideal Resolution Offered

Tehran representatives said they felt they had achieved a "magic solution" to the nuclear fuel concern in prior discussions, when it was decided an local partnership with American involvement could enrich uranium. Each party would have been able to assert triumph since domestic enrichment would have continued and the US could be certain that Iran's enrichment initiative was exclusively peaceful.

It had not been settled in the discussions that US nuclear scientists could work inside Iran, but that was a natural consequence of the consortium proposal. Diplomats stated repeatedly they had secured an understanding with Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff only for the agreement to fall apart due to "opponents in the US".

Current Position

Iran's diplomats said the cooperative arrangement was now no longer available, but it seems quite possible the offer could be reintroduced in certain ways if discussions restart.

The US president in recent days claimed he had been receiving messages that Iran wanted to restart talks, but in private Iranian officials say they are not yet receiving clear proposals from the United States either directly or from significant local go-betweens, such as Qatar, the Egyptian leadership, the Omani authorities and Saudi Arabia. The Tehran's diplomatic corps has been charged of passivity in the aftermath of Trump's direct instinctive approach, but Tehran says dialogue is not part of a show.

Negotiating Standpoint

In his speech to the conference, designed to paint the US as a controlling nation that abuses the notion of global regulations, Araghchi said the fortnight-long engagement demonstrated the dispute could not be settled by armed force. He said the attacks commenced with a American requirement for an total Iran submission and concluded with an complete request for a truce.

Iran is assured the opening assaults from Tel Aviv were mounted with full US knowledge and cooperation, making confidence difficult to reestablish.

Diplomacy Stays the Final Resolution

Araghchi said: "It was not Iran that had abandoned dialogue; it was the United States and the western countries that had repeatedly attempted to enforce their demands during the talks. Dialogue can still be alive and continues the final answer to settle disputes, but its requirements, regulations and tenets must be followed."

"Provided that they speak to the nation of Iran with the tone of dignity and honor, they will obtain a answer in the equivalent tone."

Recovery and Rebuilding

In what is described by Iranian officials as the battle of restoration and rebuilding, the foreign minister said he was assured Iran's defence capabilities "are considerably enhanced than before 13 or 14 June of this year. All our capabilities have been restored. We acquired multiple understandings from this engagement; we have identified our own weaknesses and the shortcomings of the enemy."

He continued: "We effectively endured this engagement. Our enrichment knowledge, which they planned to obliterate, stays intact. The facilities and gear, if eliminated, will be reconstructed; what is important is the resolve of the citizens of Tehran and then the social solidarity that they sought to undermine, but failed to shatter. The citizens of Tehran have grown stronger, more united, and more endorsing of the government and the nation in the aftermath of this assault."